A writer must “know and have an ever-present consciousness that this world is a world of fools and rogues… tormented with envy, consumed with vanity; selfish, false, cruel, cursed with illusions… He should free himself of all doctrines, theories, etiquettes, politics…” —Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?). “The nobility of the writer's occupation lies in resisting oppression, thus in accepting isolation” —Albert Camus (1913-1960). “What are you gonna do” —Bertha Brown (1895-1987).

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe calls on President Obama again to deny easement and honor treaty

Cannon Ball, N.D. The following statement from the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s Chairman, Dave Archambault II, is quoted in full:

“[November
26th] we were notified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that on
December 5th, they will close all lands north of the Cannonball
River, which is where Oceti Sakowin camp is located. The letter states that the
lands will be closed to public access for safety concerns, and that they will
allow for a ‘free speech zone’ south of the Cannonball River on Army Corps
lands.

“Our
Tribe is deeply disappointed in this decision by the United States, but our
resolve to protect our water is stronger than ever. We ask that all everyone
who can appeal to President Obama and the Army Corps of Engineers to consider
the future of our people and rescind all permits and deny the easement to cross
the Missouri River just north of our Reservation and straight through our
treaty lands.

“When
Dakota Access Pipeline chose this route, they did not consider our strong
opposition. Our concerns were clearly articulated directly to them in a meeting
on September 30, 2014. We have released that audio recording from our council
meeting where DAPL and the ND Public Service Commission came to us with this
route. We ask that the United States stop the pipeline and move it outside our
treaty lands.

“It
is both unfortunate and ironic that this announcement comes the day after this
country celebrates Thanksgiving – a historic exchange of goodwill between
Native Americans and the first immigrants from Europe. Although the news is
saddening, it is not at all surprising given the last 500 years of the
treatment of our people. We have suffered much, but we still have hope that the
President will act on his commitment to close the chapter of broken promises to
our people and especially our children.”

“[According to
PBS Newshour], the escalating violence against the protesters includes fire
hoses in freezing temperatures and tear gas, non-lethal bullets and mace. According
to The
Guardian, eye-witness Kingbird
charges that the encampment was crop-dusted on the night of November 13th by
chartered planes flying illegally over federal tribal land with their lights
off.

“Sr. Armando
Elenes, a Vice President of the United Farm Workers in California, [said] in an
interview that while they had investigated incidents of workers who have been
exposed to pesticides due to crop dusting or from pesticide drift incidents, ‘of
course it is illegal to do it.’ …[C]all it sick, deranged, inhuman,
reprehensible, and a couple of dozen other things…

“The event, Veterans Stand for Standing Rock, is a call
for veterans to ‘assemble as a peaceful, unarmed militia’ to ‘defend the water
protectors from assault and intimidation at the hands of the militarized police
force and DAPL security.’ The organizers hope to prevent progress on the
construction of the pipeline as well as draw national attention to the cause.

“As
Buffy St. Marie posted on her Facebook page: ‘Those heroes on the
Standing Rock reservation have peacefully stood up to police dogs, pepper spray
and militarized tanks and SWAT teams. It’s time that everyone else joined in.’
Bill McKibben writes in The New
York Times Opinion Section: ‘It is time for you to step up and end
the escalating violence.’

“December 2014: Texas-based Energy Transfer
Partners applied for a permit to build a pipeline from North Dakota’s Bakken
shale fields down south to Iowa. The proposed pipeline, a $3.7 billion,
1,172-mile endeavor capable of transporting 570,000 barrels a day, begins a
year of public hearings.

“January 2016: Regulators in North Dakota
approved the pipeline unanimously in spite of landowners alleging that
representatives of the Dakota Access project had used strong arm tactics
(including an Iowa property owner who said the oil company representatives had
offered a prostitute to convince him).

“April 29, 2016: The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers encountered near unanimous opposition to the
pipeline during a meeting for Native Americans.

“July 26, 2016: As the Democratic National
Convention was being held across the country in Philadelphia, most of the final
permits needed to construct the pipeline were approved by the U.S. government. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved 200 water crossings for the
pipeline and three easements (as in, the right for someone to use someone
else’s property) for the pipeline. The easements included crossings at the
Mississippi River, Lake Sakakawea and at Lake Oahe, a sacred site for the
Standing Rock Sioux tribe. The easements would need to be
approved by federal regulators and Congress before work could begin.

“July 27, 2016: The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
filed suit against federal regulators saying that a potential spill would threaten tribal drinking water and that the
pipeline threatens sacred tribal land in violation of the National Historic
Preservation Act and other laws.

“Aug. 24, 2016: A federal judge heard arguments
from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe lawyers, federal lawyers and Dakota Access
lawyers. Standing Rock Sioux argued that they were not afforded the opportunity
to comment on the pipeline route while the federal government said that that
opportunity had been afforded to them. Outside of the courthouse in Washington,
D.C., a rally featuring celebrities like Susan Sarandon and Shailene Woodley
supported the tribe. At least 20 people had been
arrested by this point at protests in North Dakota.

“Sept. 3, 2016: The protests in North Dakota turned
violent when a private security company hired
by the pipeline let dogs loose on protesters. North Dakota Gov.
Terry Brandstad said he would authorize State Patrol to make arrests at the
site where hundreds of people had shown up to camp.

“Sept. 9, 2016: The U.S. district judge ruled
against the Standing Sioux Tribe in the morning but said that one particular
area was barred from construction. Later that day, the federal government makes
the surprise announcement that it was voluntarily halting work on the project.

“Sept. 10, 2016: An
arrest warrant was issued for Amy Goodman, a journalist with
Democracy Now who had been covering the protests. The previous week, Goodman and her team had been at the protests and filmed security forces
using dogs against protesters and spraying them with pepper spray. That report went viral and was picked
up by several major cable news channels.

“Sept. 13, 2016: The CEO of Dakota Access
assured employees in a letter, also obtained by the media, that they were
committed to building the pipeline. The company had reportedly spent over a
billion dollars on equipment. Protesters had damaged some of that equipment.

“Oct. 9, 2016: The U.S. District Court of
Appeals removed an injunction on private lands allowing for the pipeline to
continue there. The federal government voluntary halt remains in place for U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers Land nearby.

“Oct. 11, 2016: Activists
disrupted the flow of millions of gallons of oil running between Canada in the
U.S. The activists cut padlocks and chains to go into remote
oil flow stations. There was no long term damage, activists said they had
studied how to shut off the valves safely but the oil industry said that
subsequent pressure buildup could have led to environmental damage from the
shut offs.

“Nov. 9, 2016: After the surprise presidential
victory of Donald Trump, activists and tribal leaders expressed hope that
President Barack Obama would kill the pipeline indefinitely. The pipeline developers had noted that they had finished construction up
to the land where federal regulators had denied access.
Analysts said that the pipeline was more likely than not to be finished
eventually.

“Nov. 23, 2016: Protesters and the oil company
argued over what exactly happened at the Nov. 20 protests after one protester
was hit by an explosion, tearing apart her arm and exposing bone. The protester, a 21-year-old woman from New York, was initially facing
amputation but that appeared less and less likely as she retrieved treatment.”

Teacher/Poet/Musician

Copyrights & Fair Use: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of issues vital to a democracy. I believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law.

Persona

"I want everything to be explained to me or nothing. And reason is impotent when it hears this cry from the heart. The mind aroused by this insistence seeks and finds nothing but contradiction and nonsense" —Albert Camus (1913-1960).